ANOKA, Minn. – (Feb. 26, 2015) – With the desire of one parent to give other students the same support his daughter has received, the Anoka-Hennepin School District recently became the first Seizure Smart district in the state. Paul Meunier is the former mayor of Ham Lake and his 16-year-old daughter Hannah has epilepsy. The Meunier’s have felt supported by the schools Hannah has attended in the district but they wanted to do something so that all families living with epilepsy could get that same support.
“We knew that there were kids out there in different schools that had epilepsy but the staff didn’t know about it. There’s a stigma involved with seizures and epilepsy and so often the parents won’t tell the staff because they don’t want anybody to know,” says Paul Meunier.
The Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota started the Seizure Smart Schools program in 2006 and more than 200 schools have received the designation but this is the first example of an entire district jumping on board. After an initial meeting with district leadership, the work began to educate everyone in the district about seizures. “We went to educate the school nurses, teachers and school personnel, parents of children with seizures, and then classrooms and students. We’ve got several different programs that help get into the schools and educate them,” says Vicki Kopplin, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.
The Seizure Smart training gives all staff in the buildings the tools to recognize and respond to a student who is having a seizure. “The basis of it really is to help people recognize a seizure and then properly respond to a seizure. “We’re confident and have seen that when people are educated and know how to recognize and respond to a seizure they are more comfortable in the situation and ultimately our kids feel supported and safe,” says Kopplin.
Between one and three percent of the population suffers from epilepsy and last year more than 700 seizures occurred in Anoka-Hennepin schools. Cindy Hiltz, the district’s health services coordinator, is committed to working to help all students with health ailments be able to learn.
“As a public health nurse, which is what school nurses are, that’s kind of what my goal is is to advocate the students that have medical concerns that need help at school so that they’re ready to learn. So this is a little piece of that puzzle. I think it brings the kids with that disease a little bit closer to having their needs understood and having the support there so they can academically achieve what they need to at school.”
Paul and his family have seen first hand how Hannah has been taken care of at school. And after all she has been through she still looks forward to going to school even though it can be difficult. “School for Hannah has been tough. She started out very young in accelerated classes; she was very bright. The thousands of seizures Hannah’s had has played a toll on her ability to recall information and some days it’s more difficult than others. But the staff in the school have always been really good to work with. They have always been receptive and been willing to understand Hannah’s situation. Somebody with epilepsy it isn’t like they’re sick one day and they’re healthy the next day; it’s an ever-changing situation,” says Meunier.
And the Seizure Smart Schools program can give parents more reassurance when they send their child to school. “You never know when a seizure is going to happen. You can’t plan for it, you can’t predict it. And so the best you can do is be prepared. We’re really hopeful and I’ve heard from parents how confident they feel that their school has been designated seizure smart,” says Kopplin.
Getting the largest district in the state to take this step was a major accomplishment but there is still a lot of work to be done. “Getting them to be on board as a seizure smart district is a big step but it’s only the beginning. We need to change that throughout the country. We’ve had a wonderful game but truly it isn’t the end, it’s just the start of things,” Meunier says.
“There’s over 2,000 schools K-12 so it’s a big job and that’s just public schools. We also hope to get to charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools as well,” says Kopplin.
Paul says that epilepsy has changed their lives in mostly negative ways but he is able to pull one positive out of this fight. “The majority of things have been very difficult but one positive thing is epilepsy has taught us is resiliency and I can say without doubt that Hannah has taught me more about life than I will ever be able to teach her. She is a tough kid and has endured more than anybody should ever have to.”
Over the last several years the Meunier’s have poured themselves into the work of the Epilepsy Foundation. They have raised thousands of dollars and Paul has volunteered to help in any way he can. All so maybe the next generation of kids doesn’t have to go through what Hannah has endured. “Hopefully kids down the road like Hannah have it better than she had. We like to think we are trying to pay it forward. Ten, fifteen years from now maybe kids in Hannah’s position kids will live a very different existence and if we can help with that that makes us feel good.”
Related Links:
Epilepsy Foundation of MN
Anoka-Hennepin Schools
